“I could warn you that I can’t sing,” I joked.
Mike Tsang had invited me to join a Christmas
caroling group. Rehearsals tomorrow, then carols at a hospital on
Wednesday. I’d better be a quick study. Well, it’s a choir; as long as
I don’t sing too loudly, I’ll blend in. I love singing, and I’d love
to be more comfortable with it. And it’s not a bad time to sing, too,
with familiar tunes and more forgiving people. ;)

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I listened to the Christmas CDs from the UP Singing Ambassadors
yesterday. It always amazes me that people can sing so beautifully,
and I really enjoyed listening to the Tagalog Christmas carols. (Come
to think of it, I know people who would like to hear them too.)

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Listening to songs like “Noche Buena” took me right back to Paskorus,
our annual choral contest in high school. I remember how Simonette
Santos, one of our musically-talented classmates, would play the piano
and help conduct the rest of us tone- and rhythm-deaf geeks. ;)
Somehow we survived. Somehow we even won, one of those years.
(Facebook tells me that Simonette has a four-month old baby. More on the baby blog.)

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Toronto seems strangely quiet during the holiday season. Sure, there
are plenty of holiday decorations. The supermarkets and department
stores all play cheery (but slow-paced) tunes to brighten the mood and
encourage browsing. At 120 Bloor E, there’s even a Christmas tree
festooned with computer mice and network cards that have been
spraypainted gold. But no streetkids rattling home-made tambourines
and cheerfully belting out off-key carols, no aroma from
freshly-made bibingka, no parols.

I’m going to make a parol. We know where to get bamboo, and I can find
decorative paper easily. J- will like the crafts bit. This weekend…